For the Bounty
by suzie2b
Summary: And some adventure too! "I'd go by myself if I had to."


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Author's note: tullyfan keeps putting ideas in my head!**

 **For the Bounty**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **When Tully opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the headache. He laid there trying to remember why he was lying face down on the hot sand, but the thumping in his head wouldn't let him think. He sat up slowly and let the world stop spinning before he tried to move further.**

 **After a minute … or was it two … maybe three, Tully managed to get to his feet and stagger to the jeep, each step causing more pain to flare in his head. He leaned heavily against it and realized it was empty. His frown deepened as he looked around and said to himself, "Where's Moffitt?"**

 **##################**

 **Captain Boggs gave Moffitt and Tully a solo mission while Hitch healed up a bullet wound in his side. It was a recon mission—a day to get to the coordinates, a day to reconnoiter, and a day to get back to base. Troy saw them off at the motor pool and the last thing the sergeant had said to them was, "Be careful out there."**

 **Early the next morning Moffitt and Tully got to the coordinates without running into trouble and hid in the hills to take stock of what the Germans were doing.**

 **Moffitt peered through binoculars as Tully said, "Looks like they're building a base."**

 **The sergeant handed the private the field glasses. "Take a look. What do you see?"**

 **Tully took a hard look at the construction that was going on. "It is a base of some kind, but there's something else…" He concentrated on some of the equipment and it suddenly came to him and said, "They're putting together a radar station."**

 **Moffitt nodded. "That's my thought too. Let's spend the day watching them and see what else we come up with."**

 **They took turns keeping an eye on things and making notes about what they saw. By the end of the day it appeared that the station was about half done, so Moffitt theorized that, with the size of the German construction crew, they'd been working for about a week.**

 **When the sun came up, Moffitt resumed watching the construction site while Tully put together breakfast. As he sipped his tea, he noticed a group of Arabs on horseback approach the site. Setting the mug aside Moffitt picked up the binoculars to get a closer look.**

 **A short time later Tully joined the sergeant with two plates of food and a mug of tea for himself. As he sat down next to his friend, he asked, "Anything new goin' on?"**

 **Moffitt put the binoculars down and took the offered plate. "A band of Arabs has showed up. They were met and one of them, I'm assuming their leader, was led away. Probably to speak to the station commander."**

 **Tully chewed and swallowed, then said, "You think they're working for the Germans?"**

" **It's very possible. It's not usual for Arabs to be used as spotters by both sides."**

 **A few minutes later, the Arab returned, mounted his horse, and the group rode off into the desert. Nothing else happened and as soon as breakfast was finished and their gear stowed, Moffitt and Tully headed for home.**

 **They were about an hour into their trip when Moffitt pointed out several Arabs. Two of them appeared to be tending to a third, who was lying on the ground. "Let's see if they need help."**

 **Tully turned the wheel and headed over. When he stopped the jeep Moffitt asked them if everything was all right. "** هل تحتاج إلى مساعدة؟"

 **One of the men was kneeling next to his friend and answered in English, "He was thrown from his horse and injured."**

 **Moffitt started to get out of the jeep. "Get the med kit, Tully."**

 **The private slid out of the driver's seat, took his helmet off, and grabbed the medical kit and a canteen before joining the sergeant. Moffitt was checking the fallen man over when Tully was hit from behind with the butt of a rifle.**

 **##################**

 **Tully was still leaning on the jeep when he put a hand on the back of his head and felt the stickiness of drying blood. He asked himself, "How long was I out?"**

 **He carefully moved to the back of the jeep, intending to get aspirin from the med kit … but where the kit would normally be stowed he found his helmet. Tully again looked around and spotted the kit and canteen near where he'd been laying. He moved slowly and fought to keep the dizziness at bay as he walked over to get the abandoned items. He sank to his knees before reaching for the med kit and everything flooded back to him. The Arabs had kidnapped Moffitt.**

 **Tully swallowed two aspirin with water from the canteen. With his mind a bit muddled and still on his knees, he tried to weigh his options. Option number one: Call for help. But unfortunately, Captain Boggs had ordered them to stay on radio silence. Option number two: Go back to base to get help. Tully ruled that one out as he thought about the time it would take to get there and back. He sighed as he thought about his third and final option: Go after Moffitt himself. Tully knew that Troy would have his head when he found out. Then he remembered a conversation he'd had with Moffitt not too long ago…**

 **Tully had said quite matter-of-factly, "If I just found out you'd been kidnapped, I'd go after you no matter what."**

 **Moffitt had looked at him with a smile. "You would, would you?"**

" **I'd go by myself if I had to."**

 **Moffitt had replied, "Thank you, Tully. Let's just hope we're never in that situation."**

 **That settled it for Tully. He got to his feet with the med kit and canteen in hand and went back to the jeep.**

 **#################**

 **It was midafternoon and Troy was pacing a hole in the floor next to Hitch's bunk at the hospital. "They should be back by now."**

 **Hitch said, "It could be anything, sarge. Jeep might've broken down or they got a late start back…"**

" **Or they could've been captured."**

" **Are you going after them?"**

 **Troy stopped and looked at the wounded private. "I can't as long as you're laid up."**

 **Hitch quietly said, "You could get a replacement driver."**

 **Troy smiled slightly. "I'd rather not. No, we'll just have to wait and trust everything will work out."**

 **#################**

 **Moffitt had been grabbed by the "injured" Arab and the one that had knelt next to him as Tully went down after a blow to the head. His hands had been tied and he was gagged before he was forced up onto a horse.**

 **When they arrived at the Arab encampment, Moffitt realized these were the Arabs they'd seen at the German radar station. He was taken into a tent and untied. Moffitt turned as his captures walked out, leaving guards outside. He worried about Tully, remembering the blood on the back of his head, as he looked around his prison. The Arabs had taken his pistol and the knife he carried in his jacket. For the time being there was nothing he could do but wait.**

 **Moffitt listened as an argument started outside. The Arab leader was angry that they hadn't brought the American as well. The other explained that he had been hit hard and was probably dead.**

 **The sergeant didn't listen any further.**

 **#################**

 **Tully had found and followed the tracks left by the horses, but he had no idea how much of a head start the Arabs had. He stopped the jeep when the throbbing in his head made his vision blur. Tully leaned forward to put his aching head on his hands that gripped the steering wheel. After a minute, he straightened up and slid out, keeping one hand on the side of the jeep to steady himself. After more aspirin and some water, Tully reached for his helmet. He knew he had a concussion and the sun wasn't helping his headache. As he gingerly put the helmet on, he walked to the front of the jeep to check his direction.**

 **Tully could still see the tracks, but the desert breezes were quickly pushing sand over them. The Arabs were still heading west—back in the direction of the radar station. Tully looked up at the sky and realized the day was at least half gone. He'd been unconscious for a lot longer than he'd first thought.**

 **As Tully got back into the jeep and started the engine, he wondered if Moffitt was going to be sold to the Germans at the radar station. With an added sense of urgency, Tully again headed west with his foot to the floorboards. He wanted to find the Arabs before it got dark.**

 **#################**

 **Troy went to headquarters and asked to talk to Captain Boggs. Corporal Green knocked on the office door and went inside. When he reappeared, Troy went in.**

 **Captain Boggs set his paperwork aside and looked up at Troy. "Have a seat, sergeant. What can I do for you?"**

 **Troy sat down in the chair that sat in front of the captain's desk. "The sun's going down, sir, and Moffitt and Pettigrew aren't back yet."**

" **I'm aware of that."**

" **If they aren't back by tomorrow noon, I'd like permission to go look for them, captain."**

 **Boggs wasn't surprised by the request. "Isn't Hitchcock still in the hospital?"**

 **Troy nodded. "Yes, sir."**

" **So you're planning on going out alone?"**

" **If I have to."**

 **Boggs shook his head. "I don't think so. I'd rather assign a temporary driver to go with you."**

 **Troy said, "Begging the captain's pardon, but I need someone with experience in case they've been captured. If Hitchcock can't go, then I'd rather go alone."**

 **Boggs sighed. "Well, let's not jump to any conclusions. It could be they'll show up tonight or in the morning."**

" **And if they aren't?"**

" **Come back at noon and we'll discuss it further."**

 **#################**

 **Moffitt watched the sun as it moved across the top of the tent's light fabric. It would be dark soon.**

 **The Arab leader walked in and set a clay jug of water on the floor next to where Moffitt sat cross-legged on the sand. "Blankets will be brought shortly." Then he got to the point and said, "You will be delivered to the Germans tomorrow."**

 **Moffitt looked up and said, "I do hope they make it worth it for you."**

" **The bounty will go far to feed my people."**

" **What about the man who was with me? The bounty is for dead or alive."**

 **The Arab gave a nod. "It is unfortunate he was not brought with you. At daylight two of my men will go retrieve his body."**

 **#################**

 **It was just getting dark when Tully drove into the cover of some scrub after spotting distant lights. He took more aspirin before taking the binoculars to have a look.**

 **It was easy to see that it was an Arab camp. There were several fires burning and Tully decided this had to be where Moffitt had been taken. He looked the camp over carefully and saw that two Arabs were standing outside one particular tent with rifles. Tully said to himself, "Okay, I'm willing to bet that's where Moffitt is." He surveyed the expanse of desert between the camp and where he stood. His only cover would be the darkness.**

 **Tully waited and watched until it looked like the Arabs had settled down for the night. That was his signal to go in. He covered the open desert quickly and silently, his machine gun held at the ready. When he came up behind one of the tents, Tully listened for voices, but heard nothing. He crept around to another tent where he could see the guards in front of his target. It looked like one of the guards was asleep on his feet and the other appeared ready to follow suit.**

 **Moving quickly to the back of the tent, Tully got down on his knees. First he got a penlight out of a jacket pocket, then drew his knife from its sheath. As quietly as possible, Tully made a slit in the tent's filmy material. He turned on the small flashlight and stuck his head inside. He shown the light around carefully, keeping the beam on the ground and off the tents walls.**

 **A whispered voice said, "Tully?"**

 **The private smiled when the light touched on his friend. Tully whispered, "Let's go."**

 **Moffitt quickly climbed through the slit and followed Tully to where the jeep was hidden.**

 **Tully drove until he couldn't stand the pain any longer, then pulled into a wadi and stopped. "I can't go any further, sarge."**

 **Moffitt suddenly remembered that Tully had taken a blow to the head. "Let's get you moved over here. I'll drive." After helping the private into the passenger seat, the sergeant said, "I was blindfolded when they took me. What's our direction?"**

 **Tully squeezed his eyes shut against the pain in his head. "Northeast. By the time it starts getting light, you should be able recognize the area."**

" **Right, northeast it is then."**

 **#################**

 **When Troy got word from Hitch that Moffitt and Tully were back, he knew someone was hurt. He hurried to the hospital and found Moffitt with Hitch. "What happened?"**

 **Moffitt said, "We ran into a problem with a band of Arabs. Tully was knocked unconscious and I was kidnapped with the intention of selling me to the Germans we found. Tully managed to find and rescue me in spite of a concussion."**

 **Troy frowned. "I'm glad you're both all right, but he should've come back here for help."**

 **Hitch said, "You know Tully, sarge. He would've figured there wasn't time."**

 **A nurse led Tully to the bunk next to Hitch's as he complained, "I'm okay. I just need to get some sleep and I can do that at home."**

 **The nurse said, "The doctor wants to keep an eye on you for a couple of days."**

 **Hitch smiled slightly as he asked, "How's your head?"**

 **Tully sat down on the bunk with a sigh. "Not bad now that the doc gave me a shot of something. How's your side?"**

" **Healing up. I should be out of here in a day or two."**

 **Tully laid back and carefully put his bandaged head on the pillow. "Is Charley in town?"**

 **Troy nodded. "Yeah, she's at headquarters working and waiting to hear news about you two. I'd thought I'd check on you both before letting her know."**

 **Moffitt smiled as he untied Tully's boots and pulled them off. "I have to report in to Captain Boggs. I'll send her over." Tully's eyes slid shut with a slow nod as Moffitt covered him with a blanket. "You just get some rest."**

 **Troy asked, "Mind if I go along to hear your report?"**

" **I wouldn't have it any other way."**

" **Keep an eye on him, Hitch."**

 **The private nodded. "Right, sarge."**

 **Several hours later, after a shower, a clean uniform, and something to eat, Moffitt returned to the hospital. He couldn't help but grin when he saw his friends. Hitch and Tully were sleeping peacefully. Troy was playing solitaire while Charley held her husband's hand as she read quietly from one of the books she always carries in her satchel.**

 **Moffitt pulled a chair over to join them, happy that they were all there together … even though it was in the hospital again.**


End file.
